PANews reported on January 12 that, according to Coinbob monitoring, a former Hyperliquid employee (address starting with 0x7ae4) withdrew 249,999 USDC, leaving 1,483,912 USDC in the contract account.

This address consistently shorted HYPE during the price drop, and its connection to the Hyperliquid team was discovered through on-chain tracking, drawing attention. However, the Hyperliquid team recently clarified that the address belongs to a former employee who was laid off in 2024 and has severed ties with Hyperliquid Labs.